


Four Word Prompts

by downworldkings (900yearsoftimeandspacce)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 23:40:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9147154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/900yearsoftimeandspacce/pseuds/downworldkings
Summary: Little fluffy ficlets inspired by four word prompts in no particular order.





	1. I Won't Let You

**Author's Note:**

> @Drowningmermaid and @Kimmy: You both requested prompts, and I wanted to thank you for that. The biggest reason I post fic is because of the interaction with readers and other writers, so I really appreciated and it, and your prompts were fun and not things I probably would have written otherwise. You both requested a prompt what feels like forever ago, and I replied and said I'd do them both. I was so excited to get prompts that I pretty much started writing as soon as I saw them. I got maybe halfway through, then realized I didn't like what I'd written. The tone was... much like that of the first three chapters here, and I realized I didn't like it. I didn't like writing it, I didn't like reading it. So I tried again with your prompts. And again. But I couldn't come up with anything I liked. It's taken me forever, but I wanted to let you both know (assuming you see this) that I won't be posting chapters based on your prompts because I can't write anything satisfactory. If I ever do manage to write something along the lines of what you requested, I'll try to remember to let you both know. I really appreciate you reading my fic, and I hope you're both doing well.
> 
> Also, thank you to everyone who's read my fic, and extra thank you's to everyone who's left kudos. I really appreciate it!!!

“I won’t let you.”

Alec sighed. “Magnus, we don’t have time for this.”

“No, Alexander. I won’t let you do this. Out child is beautiful and pure. I will not let you dress him in all black and cargo pants.”

Magnus looked at Alec, unyielding. Alec sighed again. “Fine, Magnus. Just be quick. Izzy’s going to kill us for being late.”

Magnus smiled in triumph and scooped up Max from the floor where he’d been sitting between their feet, playing with Alec’s shoelaces as they argued, utterly indifferent. Magnus took Max into his bedroom, and sashayed back out a moment later (and how he sashayed while carrying a small child, Alec would never know), Max now wearing sleek black pants and a cute little beige sweater with a reindeer on the front.

It was April.

Alec decided it was best not to fight Magnus on this, and simply rolled his eyes as he opened the door for him. Magnus sashayed out into the hall (Max was clinging to his shoulder, arms loosely around his neck; it shouldn’t have been possible), and Alec shut the front door and followed him into the elevator.

Max was being unusually quiet, and while Alec was tempted to ask Magnus if he had, you know, done something, he thought it might offend him, and he was still trying to find a somewhat milder way of phrasing it when the elevator dinged open.

Isabelle was standing in front of them, hands on her hips, looking like she wanted to strangle them.

“I said twelve o’clock.”

Alec glared at Magnus.

“You know your brother, Isabelle. If it weren’t for my heroics, poor Max would never wear anything with color.”

Isabelle shrugged. “Fair point.”

 

By the time they arrived at the park, everyone else was already there. Everyone.

Jace took advantage the moment they were within shouting distance, and Alec took Max from Magnus to go sit on a picnic blanket and let Max play in the grass so Magnus could ‘socialize.’ It was an overly involved process, if you asked Alec. But Magnus liked it, and Alec was happy to sit in the sun and pretend none of it was happening. Max could be a handful, and Alec figured if he kept busy with him, he could avoid the whole ‘socializing’ nonsense.

It was a commendable effort, really, but you know how these things work.

Simon eventually found his way over, and Alec had to leave before he punched him again. (The first time was an accident, he swears.) He ended up wandering over to Magnus, who gave him a little smile, then Jace started making his most PG jokes, of which he had very few, in consideration of Max, who was clamped to Alec’s side. And then, blessedly, and Alec never thought he’d ever say that, Max started crying, and Alec had to take him over to the shade cast by a towering oak, away from everyone else, to calm him down.

Max’s head was on his shoulder, and he was rubbing Max’s back when Magnus walked over, looking very sympathetic.

“You look miserable, Alexander.”

“Yeah, Max won’t stop crying.”

Magnus gave him a Look. “They’re your family, Alexander.”

“Simon is most definitely not my family.”

Magnus seemed to be fighting against a barely contained smile. “Well, I suppose Max needs his nap. We should probably be heading home.”

Alec tried; he really, really tried to fight back his smile. But sweet, sweet Alexander (Magnus’ words, obviously) had no poker face. So he just stood there, giving Magnus his adorable grateful smile, and Magnus reached out to him.

“Let me take Max. You’ve been carrying him around all day.”

Alec handed Max to Magnus, and they had to shout their goodbye’s over his cries. It was incredible, really, how long he’d been crying. Alec would have been exhausted after about a minute.

They portaled back to the loft rather than walking, as they had before, and Alec took Max back as Magnus went into the kitchen to get him a bottle. Alec laid back on the new navy couch (Alec had walked by it to the kitchen with Max at about two in the morning, and had thought he was hallucinating), Max on his chest, rubbing Max’s back as he cried. Just listening to him was exhausting.

Magnus walked back into the living room with the bottle, handed it to Alec, who immediately sat up and started feeding Max, and settled in against Alec’s side, his head on Alec’s shoulder. It didn’t take very long for Max to fall asleep, and it was only a few minutes later that Alec’s eyes closed, bottle still in his hand, head on Magnus’.

Both Alec and Max were snoring softly, and Magnus tried to keep his laughter quiet enough to not wake them up.


	2. There was pink potion...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested by @Drowningmermaid, with a little help with the prompt from @Kimmy.
> 
> My favorite part of this is Magnus implying that apple pie is a meal.
> 
>  

Alec shut the door. “Magnus?”

Nothing.

“Magnus? Raphael? Max?”

Silence.

Still in his combat gear, Alec drew his bow. He scanned the loft as he inched forward, but the living room, the kitchen, and the hallway that lead to their bedrooms and Magnus’ office were all empty. It was completely silent; then he heard something scrape against the floor. He whipped around to face the hallway, and someone darted out from Max’s bedroom.

Alec fired.

The arrow missed and shattered the glass in a framed photograph of Max and Raphael on the wall. Magnus looked offended.

“ _Alexander_.”

Alec sighed in relief. “Magnus, why didn’t you answer me? I thought something had happened. Where are Max and Raphael?”

“Oh, we were playing hide and seek. They didn’t want to come out and ruin all the fun.”

Alec looked equal parts skeptical and confused. “Who’s seeking?”

Magnus grinned. “That would be me.”

“Then why were you hiding?”

“I wasn’t hiding. I was being discreet.”

Alec drew his eyebrows together. ”How worried should I be?”

Magnus waved his hand. “Not at all.” He walked over to Alec, his eyes on Alec’s lips. He put his hand on Alec’s shoulder and was just leaning in on his tiptoes when Alec took a step back.

“So you’re on distraction duty. What’d they do?”

Someone giggled. Magnus closed his eyes for a moment in frustration or defeat (Alec was hoping it was defeat), then looked up at Alec.

“Max drank a potion that was on my desk.” At Alec’s worried look, he added, “he’s fine.

“He got into my office while I was helping Raphael in the living room, and there was pink potion on the desk- you know Max loves bright colors. It was for one of my clients- a mundane, obviously. It’s harmless, it just makes the drinker a bit more… easy- going.”

Alec looked very, very concerned. “Really? That’s it? No horrible side- effects?”

Magnus chuckled. “He’ll be fine, Alexander. The effects of the potion will wear off in a few hours. Right now, he’s just a little extra giggly. Nothing terrible about that.”

“And you can’t just-“ Alec waved his hand around.

“I don’t want to risk my magic doing more harm than good.” Seeing Alec’s expression, Magnus added, “He’ll be fine, Alec.”

“So we just… stick it out?”

“Yep. Oh, by the way, I promised them we’d make apple pie. They didn’t want to do it without you, though. Apparently, they’ve deemed you the Certified Chef of the Household, which is ridiculous, I might add. I’ve had four centuries to learn the art of a good meal, and you’ve had, what, twenty odd years?” Alec chuckled. Yeah, twenty odd years. That’s how he’d say it.

But before Alec could say anything, Max and Raphael walked out into the living room from their bedroom. So much for hide and seek. Magnus and Alec stepped apart a bit, and Magnus magicked away Alec’s bow as Alec stretched out his arms. Max ran up to him and hugged him, clinging to his neck like a sloth as Alec straightened. Raphael hugged his leg more than anything else, but it’s the thought that counts. And Raphael initiating any kind of physical contact was… well, it was new, and Magnus and Alec certainly weren’t going to discourage it.

Raphael let go and stepped back, and then it was just him and Magnus watching Max, who didn’t look like he was planning on letting go anytime soon. Alec rubbed his back a little in a kind of ‘okay, you can let go now’ gesture and tried to lower him to the floor, but Max just clasped his hands a little tighter around Alec’s neck.

“Max, I have to take a shower.”

“Okay.”

“Max, I can’t take a shower if you don’t let go.”

“Why not?”

“How am I supposed to wash my hair?”

“Why are you going to wash your hair?”

Alec looked like he was just going to give up, but in one big step, Magnus moved in and started tickling Max. Max fell off of Alec like a little leech into Magnus’ arms, and Alec gave Magnus a tiny grateful smile as Max groaned quite spectacularly. (He was so much like Magnus sometimes it hurt.) Magnus ignored it and looked between Max and Raphael.

“Why don’t we get out the ingredients for the apple pie while dad takes a shower?”

Max must have been okay with that plan because he kind of just… left. He just walked right into the kitchen.

“Well then.” Magnus turned to Alec. “Guess you’d better hurry.”

  
  


By the time the pie was in the oven, Max looked like a potato. He was literally covered from head to toe in flour. Raphael thought it was hysterical, and kept refilling the little bowl Magnus was dumping over Max’s head. At first, Alec had tried to keep things under control, he really had. But Max just grinned and giggled whenever Magnus coated him in flour, and eventually, Alec just gave up. They were having fun. And he’d make Magnus clean it up later (it would take him _literally_ a second), so Alec just made some coffee, somehow managing to stay relatively flour-free, and went into the living room to read. Raphael eventually joined him, cuddled up with just about every blanket they owned, and Magnus lead Max off to the bathroom to clean him up a little. (Alec sincerely hoped it would be more than just a little. Max looked like he’d been the sole survivor of a very large explosion. (Magnus was spotless.))

Once Alec could hear the water running and he figured the kitchen was safe, Alec got up to get more coffee; but didn’t make it past the kitchen door. The floor was sticky and disgusting ( _one_ second), and it looked like the walls had been repainted (literally _one_ second). Alec gave up and just went back to reading with Raphael.

  
He’d deal with it later.


	3. Max loves his Marks.

As a child, Magnus hated his Marks, and he _will not_ let Max grow up hating his, too. While Alec throughly agrees, he does not necessarily approve of Magnus’ methods. Okay. That’s not entirely true; he thinks Magnus is probably right, he just doesn’t want to have to sit around with a bunch of other people in a social context. Sue him.

So Magnus is right (a real shocker), and Alec isn’t a people person (surprise surprise); but it’s for Max, so Alec tags along.

It’s a Saturday, a bright, sunny Saturday in March, the kind of day that looks warm and pleasant from your window, but when you step outside, the wind cuts through your shirt and sends you shivering back inside. That’s the kind of day it is, the first of the year, and the three of them, Magnus, Alec and Max, end up walking across the city and to the home of an absolute stranger. Well, they’re an absolute stranger to Alec. Magnus swears he’s met them before So really, Alec isn’t to be blamed for being a bit apprehensive when they knock on this ‘friend’s’ front door.

The person who opens it could rival Magnus for the most extravagantly dressed. They have very long, very bright blue hair, and are wearing what Alec imagines royalty wore centuries ago, red and gold and elaborate, embroidery all down the sides of what appears to be some kind of robe.

They smile when they see the three of them standing there, and it makes their green eyes gleam.

As it turns out, they’re a Seelie. What a Seelie is doing in an apartment in New York City, Alec doesn’t dare to ask.

They introduce themselves as Vince, and usher them into the living room, which is disproportionately large for the rest of the apartment (that Alec can see) and that is packed with people. Okay. There are nine of them; five adults, with Vince, and four children, all Max’s age. None of the kids pay much attention to them, not until Max sits down and tells them that their construction work needs improvement (he’s very invested when it comes to Legos), but all of the parents greet them, and Vince asks if they would like anything to drink. (Alec politely declines, but Magnus readily accepts the offer.)

It’s all very awkward, but Magnus must not think so because the next time Alec glances over at him, he’s halfway through a very lengthy conversation about protective wards. He’s telling another parent, Alec can’t remember his name, about this great book that has all the best protective spells, wards, potions, you name it. (Alec could name it. He has heard about this book  a million times. While he’s never so much as opened the cover, he could probably recite the content up until page 491. Alec always falls asleep by page 491.)

So Alec zones out, and focuses instead on Max, who doesn’t seem to care that he’s there at all.

Two of the other children are Warlocks; one has skin that looks like scales, shimmering and shifting, and the other’s Warlock Mark is a sixth finger on each hand. The other two children are Seelies, and the four of them accepted Max without question the way only children do.

Vince sits down on the couch next to Alec. “Max seems like a sweet kid. Magnus said he’ll be five in November?”

“Yeah, November 15.”

They both glance over at Max, who’s having a very one-sided conversation with one of the Seelie girls. Vince points to her.

“That’s my daughter, Eva. She just turned six a few weeks ago. Birthday parties aren’t really a Seelie tradition, but I took her ice skating anyway, just the two of us. She loved it. I have you to thank for that, you know, you and Magnus. You changed things for everyone.”

Alec furrows his brows, confused and slightly taken aback.

Vince continues, “If it hadn’t been for you and Magnus, and you adopting Max, I never would have been able to get Eva. So thank you.”

Alec, still surprised, says, “Oh. Yeah. Yeah,” and leaves it at that.

Vince continues to make conversation, talking about Eva and Max, and how sweetly they’re getting along, occasionally asking questions about Max. And then they’re joined by Agatha, a Warlock, who wants to know if Max has started lighting things on fire yet.

Alec hardly sees Magnus for the rest of their time at Vince’s, and when they leave in the late afternoon, he’s glad to be away from all of the people. Magnus portals the three of them back home, and Max sits on the counter, talking about ice skating, as Alec makes dinner. (Max has never been before. Magnus declares it an atrocity.)

Max goes to bed fairly soon after they eat, and Alec and Magnus settle on the couch, Magnus in the corner and Alec leaning against his shoulder, both reading large, leather-bound books from Magnus’ library. It’s quiet except for the rustling of paper as a page is turned, magic keeping the noise of the city from reaching their ears.

Alec reaches the end of the chapter and turns his head to look at Magnus, waiting for Magnus to look up. When he does, Alec smiles, ever so softly. Magnus smiles back and lifts his head a bit to give him a tiny little kiss. Then they just sit there, smiling at each other, the light sparkling in their eyes and catching on Magnus’ rings and necklaces, and on the silver band on Alec’s ring finger.

Alec’s voice is very quiet when he speaks, almost a whisper, all soft. “How long have you known Vince?”

Magnus chuckles. “Since they were a child. Their parents were killed in the Uprising, and they were one of hundreds who didn’t have anywhere to go. I helped find them a place with a group of Seelies in Romania, and I heard they were happy there, but I didn’t see them much after that. And then they reached out to me a few years ago, asking for help getting Eva. It was a nightmare. Took months. But we won in the end.” He smiles at Alec, perhaps remembering what they themselves went through to get Max.

They sit there in silence for a few minutes, just smiling at each other, and then Magnus says, “You should probably get to bed. You have that meeting tomorrow at seven. God knows I won’t be up.”

Alec laughs, just once, just one little laugh. “Yeah.”

Magnus shifts, and Alec sits up so Magnus can stand. Magnus sets his book on the end table and extends his hand to Alec.

“C’mon.”

Alec smiles at him, all sweet and fond, and takes his hand.

They walk down the hallway, hand in hand, and stop at Max’s room to check on him, as they always do. Magnus pushes the door open ever so slightly, and a sliver of light falls across the floor and onto the bed, where Max is curled up on his side, facing them. His little brown curls spill down onto his forehead, little horns poking out and glinting in the light. His skin appears to be a midnight blue in the darkness, and his chest rises and falls with each breath.

Standing in the doorway, watching him, Magnus does not see himself, and he could not be more grateful.


	4. Alec, I'm not stupid.

“Good morning.”

Alec starts, turning to face Isabelle, who’s leaning against the wall outside his bedroom, her dress dark, her lips bright red and curved in a smirk, her eyes glinting.

Alec clears his throat and shuts his door, setting off down the hallway. Isabelle’s shoes make a sharp clicking sound each time they hit the floor, and a little pitter patter echoes through the deserted hallway as she hurries to catch up with him, matching his quick steps with languid grace. Alec glances over at her, then returns his gaze to the harsh halls of the Institute. 

“Can I help you?” 

His voice is a bit scratchy, and he sounds tired and annoyed, and Isabelle laughs, just a little, just enough to tell him that she won’t push him, but that she’s not just going to drop this either.

“Have a nice time at Magnus’?” 

She’s smirking, like she was waiting to catch him off guard, and the edges of her lips rise the tiniest bit more when Alec’s eyes widen and he opens his mouth to argue. She beats him to it, though, and catches his shoulder, turning to face him, stopping in the middle of the hallway.

“Alec, I’m not stupid, and there’s nothing wrong with it. I know you were with Magnus, and I hope you had a nice time, okay? That’s it.”

Alec flounders for a moment, mouth open, but no words coming out. Then, very slowly, a hesitant smile spreads across his face, and he seems to soften around the edges until it’s just him, looking at Isabelle, standing in a hallway in the Institute, smiling because she asked him about his night with Magnus. And he sounds so much more sincere than Isabelle thought he would when he says, “Okay.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on Tumblr [here](http://downworldkings.tumblr.com/).


End file.
